"Oh~ how scary~ Was I completely caught by Observation Haki?
You're as strong as a monster~ Black Gun Austin."
At that moment, a sleazy-looking man in a striped suit and Marine coat stepped out from among the Marine officers.
His strange, mocking tone immediately made people feel irritated.
Marine Vice Admiral, wielder of the Glint-Glint Fruit, Borsalino.
In response, Austin merely smiled with interest.
"Well... I've long since grown used to being called a monster.
So, to deal with a monster like me, you're all coming at me together? You really can't afford to lose, huh."
"Black Gun Dotol Austin!!! Against a world-threatening criminal as vile as you, the Marines have no need to speak of honor!!!"
"Great Eruption!!!"
Sakazuki had no interest in listening to Austin's words. Without another word, his entire body instantly transformed into scorching magma.
Sulfurous fumes rose from his body as thick layers of viscous magma churned. Even his clothes glowed red.
Power no weaker than a volcanic eruption gathered in his fist, clad in a black leather glove, swelling continuously.
He opened with a killing move. Even from far away, a wave of heat struck first, sending Austin's long hair whipping wildly in the steam.
The fruit with the greatest attack power, the Magma-Magma Fruit?
Makes sense. With enough force to send hundreds of tons of volcanic rock thousands of meters into the sky, such absurd explosive power was only natural.
Still, this move was not without its flaws.
It was too slow.
Unlike the Glint-Glint Fruit's extreme mobility, or the Ice-Ice Fruit's massive spreading range, while the Magma-Magma Fruit possessed unprecedented attack power, its windup was equally terrifying.
At least before Austin's Future Sight, this imposing, charged Great Eruption had no chance of landing.
Logia Types were indeed uniquely blessed, something Austin had to admit.
But certain Paramecia abilities involving the concepts of rules stood above them.
Austin could have easily dodged this attack, but that would have gone against his original intention of displaying his true strength.
After all, it was not every day that he encountered opponents on his own level. The rest were either too weak or too strong.
To this day, Austin had never fought a truly satisfying battle at full strength.
That was somewhat detrimental to the future growth of his Conqueror's Haki.
So...
Facing Sakazuki's enormous molten fist head-on, red light continuously flashed in Austin's eyes, utterly devoid of emotion.
Clearly, the future he saw was not much different from what he had expected.
"Clang—"
Facing such terrifying magma, Austin slowly clenched one hand into a fist as flowing Armament Haki instantly wrapped around it.
The Marine officers standing apart to avoid being accidentally injured by the high-temperature magma saw this and immediately narrowed their eyes.
They could scarcely believe it.
"What is that stance? Is he planning to clash with Sakazuki head-on?"
"He's overestimating himself! Even if Armament Haki can theoretically injure the physical bodies of Logia Type users, that explosive force and heat are terrifying.
Even if he protects himself with Armament Haki, his hand will be cooked instantly!"
"You arrogant brat!!!"
However, Austin's true strength clearly exceeded their expectations.
The very next moment, streams of black-red lightning gathered again around the flowing Armament Haki!
The crushing pressure that made everyone's hearts tremble shattered the earth inch by inch, as though the mere existence of that power in the world carried unimaginable weight.
"That brat!!!"
That aura instantly caught the attention of the three people fighting fiercely in the distance.
For a moment, even their intense battlefield came to a standstill.
"How is that possible!?! Conqueror's Haki Infusion at fifteen!?!!" A sharp light burst from Sengoku's eyes, and blood vessels were even visible in them.
"Worororororo! Just as Roger said, he's a monster. That gun-wielding brat already has the qualifications to stand atop the world at such a young age!"
Garp laughed loudly. "Then let's leave him here forever!!!"
"Hey!! You two dare let yourselves be distracted while fighting? Aren't you looking down on me too much?!
I'm Golden Lion!!!"
Clearly, Garp and Sengoku's conversation had enraged the lion, and the pressure instantly surged!
Even Garp and Sengoku turned grave in the face of that power, let alone Sakazuki, who was only in his twenties.
"What!? This Haki!!"
Cold sweat ran down Sakazuki's face, but it was quickly evaporated by the rolling magma. He could only grit his teeth and draw upon all his strength.
The explosive power of the Magma-Magma Fruit showed itself at that moment as the gigantic molten fist shot toward Austin.
Austin answered with a full-power Ryou and Conqueror's Haki Infusion punch of his own.
The two forces collided, and the immense pressure and heat instantly melted the entire ground into liquid.
BOOM!!!!
The two forces remained locked together. Strangely, the heat that should have melted flesh and bone seemed unable to directly touch Austin's fist.
Before the fist that continuously emitted black-red lightning, there seemed to be an invisible barrier. The magma simply could not pass through it directly.
Sakazuki's expression immediately turned extremely ugly.
The Marines were all equally incredulous.
"This is the power of Conqueror's Haki Infusion, Sakazuki!"
"Even the explosive force of the volcanoes you're so proud of is nothing more than this to me..."
Black-red lightning flashed continuously around his fist as Austin stared at the erupting magma and merely crouched slightly to gather strength.
Terrifying brute force rose from his waist.
Before the stunned gazes of the surrounding Marines, the ground for a hundred meters around him instantly sank, as though it could no longer bear the weight.
Terrifying recoil force engulfed the earth, an exaggerated display that fully revealed the sheer dominance of that power.
In an instant,
the figure wrapped in black-red lightning and flowing Haki broke through the molten fist itself and appeared before the unprepared Sakazuki.
That figure was like a demon king from hell, scarlet light flashing incessantly in his eyes.
Terrifying Haki coiled around his fist as he drew it back.
Sakazuki's chest instantly caved in. The flowing Ryou and Conqueror's Haki Infusion made it impossible for him to turn elemental and defend himself.
He took that monstrous punch head-on.
His miserable state looked even more exaggerated than when he had been beaten into a pulp during the Summit War.
Seeing Sakazuki rolling his eyes and vomiting blood,
Austin had intended to follow up, but the other Marines beside him were hardly decorations.
Beams of laser light and glaciers sweeping down from above forced Austin to withdraw and teleport beyond their range.
Yet the black-red lightning around his fist had not faded.
Beneath the raging wind and rain,
his proud figure stood in a trench coat, long hair and coattails moving with the wind. His handsome face still carried that calm smile.
Now, with Conqueror's Haki Infusion in hand, the red light in his eyes that saw through the future had never dispersed.
By himself, he plunged every young Marine at Marineford into despair.
"So, who's next?"
Before you continue